duncan228
09-21-2009, 03:37 PM
West, Beasley Force a Hard Look at Mental Illness in the NBA (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=tsn-westbeasleyforceahar&prov=tsn&type=lgns)
SportingNews
They were like two trains passing in the night, if the NBA's barren off-season counts as one night, and by "passing" you mean "awkwardly stuck into the same space by virtue of imprecise journalism."
Yet here it is: Michael Beasley, whose mysterious disappearance into the halls of in-patient was the summer's biggest non-trade story, is out and beloved (http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Baseline/entry/view/35409/beasley_set_to_finish_rehab,_rejoin_heat). Almost cosmically, fellow eccentric and DC-area native then gets knocked by the cops (http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Baseline/entry/view/35285/cavs_west_arrested_on_weapons_charges) for … well, you know the story by now.
The Beasley soap opera, which had the poor fortune to unfold over the weekend and possibly involve Twitter, ended up a dud. The talented and perplexing Miami forward had entered rehab because the league made him; as far as we know, there was no threat to himself or others, no severe depression and nothing wackier going into his system than weed, whose presence in the NBA is hardly a revelation.
But by the time things got straightened out, the damage had been done—or more accurately, the shoe had been found to fit. Beasley just seemed like the kind of dude who would turn out to be, in the popular parlance, "crazy" or "on drugs." He's the rare prospect whose stock suffered not only for immaturity or a rebellious streak, but just plain old weirdness.
The way the pot aspect of the story was handled was most indicative of Beasley's baggage. Suddenly, the dullest drug on Earth became a gateway into another dimension, part of the explanation for the kid's personality (never mind that stoners, as a rule, have no personality).
Above all else, the fog of discourse that descended upon Michael Beasley (and will probably stick for some time) was sensationalist. He was a player who, to borrow a phrase, was asking for it. "Crazy player turns out to be crazy" might as well have been the headline on much of what was written, and it's not like that impression's going away just because the truth turned out to be decidedly mundane. After all, it was still Beasley. How boring could it be?
Then, there was Delonte West. Certainly, West has a reputation as a character. A brief compilation of his greatest hits would have to include his Valentine's Day date advice, drive-through freestyle video and those bizarre who's-interviewing-who segments with Paul Pierce when West was a Celtic. And yet despite being stuck on crap teams, multiple changes of scenery and disagreements over how best to use him, West has emerged as an extremely useful player. Brash, yes, but basically just a funny dude with a lot of basketball skill who seemed to have finally found a niche for himself.
To put it bluntly, Beasley was the nutjob, West the goofball. When West missed some time last season while seeking treatment for depression (reported later to be "a mood disorder," then bipolar disorder), all the emphasis had been on his increased role on the Cavs and just how important he would be to a championship run. He was a veteran with a kooky streak.
Beasley, meanwhile, was being monitored for both performance and psychological disturbances, with the two often intertwined. When his story semi-broke, the floodgates opened, and all of a sudden the subject of athletes and mental health were everywhere. All because Beasley, however speciously, just seemed like a poster child for the issue. It was a discussion that should be taking place, and Beasley galvanized it. For both players, career standing dictated coverage of their mental illness.
Someone probably owes Beasley some sort of medal. Maybe even Delonte West. Because what happened over the weekend with West is just fundamentally harder for people to wrap their minds around. That's why some have responded with jokes, others by lumping it in with Plaxico Burress. If you're feeling especially cynical, you could claim that Beasley set a false example, or prematurely exhausted the conversation.
But I prefer to believe that, for lack of a better term, the Beasley fiasco was a gateway story. Had it not been for that hectic few days of full-on "what's in Beasley's brain?" talk, people would just be flat-out alienated by West. At least the pump's been primed. Now, instead of clinging to preconceptions and side-bets about who's the craziest NBA player, we can take a cold, hard look at Delonte West and maybe learn a little something about how mental illness really works.
SportingNews
They were like two trains passing in the night, if the NBA's barren off-season counts as one night, and by "passing" you mean "awkwardly stuck into the same space by virtue of imprecise journalism."
Yet here it is: Michael Beasley, whose mysterious disappearance into the halls of in-patient was the summer's biggest non-trade story, is out and beloved (http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Baseline/entry/view/35409/beasley_set_to_finish_rehab,_rejoin_heat). Almost cosmically, fellow eccentric and DC-area native then gets knocked by the cops (http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Baseline/entry/view/35285/cavs_west_arrested_on_weapons_charges) for … well, you know the story by now.
The Beasley soap opera, which had the poor fortune to unfold over the weekend and possibly involve Twitter, ended up a dud. The talented and perplexing Miami forward had entered rehab because the league made him; as far as we know, there was no threat to himself or others, no severe depression and nothing wackier going into his system than weed, whose presence in the NBA is hardly a revelation.
But by the time things got straightened out, the damage had been done—or more accurately, the shoe had been found to fit. Beasley just seemed like the kind of dude who would turn out to be, in the popular parlance, "crazy" or "on drugs." He's the rare prospect whose stock suffered not only for immaturity or a rebellious streak, but just plain old weirdness.
The way the pot aspect of the story was handled was most indicative of Beasley's baggage. Suddenly, the dullest drug on Earth became a gateway into another dimension, part of the explanation for the kid's personality (never mind that stoners, as a rule, have no personality).
Above all else, the fog of discourse that descended upon Michael Beasley (and will probably stick for some time) was sensationalist. He was a player who, to borrow a phrase, was asking for it. "Crazy player turns out to be crazy" might as well have been the headline on much of what was written, and it's not like that impression's going away just because the truth turned out to be decidedly mundane. After all, it was still Beasley. How boring could it be?
Then, there was Delonte West. Certainly, West has a reputation as a character. A brief compilation of his greatest hits would have to include his Valentine's Day date advice, drive-through freestyle video and those bizarre who's-interviewing-who segments with Paul Pierce when West was a Celtic. And yet despite being stuck on crap teams, multiple changes of scenery and disagreements over how best to use him, West has emerged as an extremely useful player. Brash, yes, but basically just a funny dude with a lot of basketball skill who seemed to have finally found a niche for himself.
To put it bluntly, Beasley was the nutjob, West the goofball. When West missed some time last season while seeking treatment for depression (reported later to be "a mood disorder," then bipolar disorder), all the emphasis had been on his increased role on the Cavs and just how important he would be to a championship run. He was a veteran with a kooky streak.
Beasley, meanwhile, was being monitored for both performance and psychological disturbances, with the two often intertwined. When his story semi-broke, the floodgates opened, and all of a sudden the subject of athletes and mental health were everywhere. All because Beasley, however speciously, just seemed like a poster child for the issue. It was a discussion that should be taking place, and Beasley galvanized it. For both players, career standing dictated coverage of their mental illness.
Someone probably owes Beasley some sort of medal. Maybe even Delonte West. Because what happened over the weekend with West is just fundamentally harder for people to wrap their minds around. That's why some have responded with jokes, others by lumping it in with Plaxico Burress. If you're feeling especially cynical, you could claim that Beasley set a false example, or prematurely exhausted the conversation.
But I prefer to believe that, for lack of a better term, the Beasley fiasco was a gateway story. Had it not been for that hectic few days of full-on "what's in Beasley's brain?" talk, people would just be flat-out alienated by West. At least the pump's been primed. Now, instead of clinging to preconceptions and side-bets about who's the craziest NBA player, we can take a cold, hard look at Delonte West and maybe learn a little something about how mental illness really works.